The newest leak on this list is also one of the biggest, and it involves WikiLeaks, an organization that you’ll find is featured here more than once. In this case, WikiLeaks published a trove of information related to the CIA’s hacking capabilities.
The CIA has developed zero day exploits that allow it to tap into smartphones, smart TVs, and even connected cars, according to the leak, letting the agency to basically turn these into spying devices.
In one example, the CIA was able to make a Samsung TV appear as if it was turned off, but in reality it was still on and recording audio of whatever happened in the room.
It’s important to note that the fallout of the leak is ongoing, and we don’t yet have any evidence that the CIA was using these tactics to spy on US citizens or anyone else, for that matter.
While some security experts suggest the Snowden leaks are the biggest and most important in recent history, others already argue that this latest WikiLeaks leak is bigger.
“While the Snowden leak just confirmed everyone’s suspicion that the NSA has access to all of our digital lives and data, the WikiLeaks CIA leak [in early March] is the most important in recent history,” said Gary Miliefsky, CEO of cyber-security company Snoopwall.
“First, it shows how over $100 billion of taxpayers money was spent by the CIA to develop and purchase a treasure trove of cyber warfare weapons unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the wild.”
